Starting the morning of November 7, 2016, users will no longer need to re-enter their patron information when placing multiple requests in a single search session. After a user places a Request, their login information (barcode, pickup location, etc.) will be held in memory until the user logs out, closes their browser, or 15 minutes of inactivity pass.

How it works:

Users first access Request from Melvyl, UC-eLinks, or PubMed and place a Request as usual:

At this point, if no more items are needed, click the “Log Out” button to end the session.

After exiting Request, when they access Request again, the system will remember their login information and they won’t need to enter it again:

]]>Request from eBook records, yes you canhttp://www.cdlib.org/cdlinfo/2014/05/27/request-from-ebook-records-yes-you-can/
Tue, 27 May 2014 16:39:32 +0000http://www.cdlib.org/cdlinfo/?p=15195More...]]>Melvyl includes millions of eBook records, and it is often difficult to find the parallel print record in order to request the item. However, you don’t need to find the parallel record – you can submit a Request from the eBook record[*]!

Keep in mind this will result in a request for the print copy. As of the publication of this article, UC is not able to lend the electronic version of books.

Here’s how…

If you can’t find a gold Request button on a record, look for the gold UC-eLinks button.

The UC-eLinks menu will include a link to Request!

You can click on the “Request…” link and submit your request as usual. The Request service automatically locates the print copy record & its potential lenders behind the scenes.

*Request buttons do not appear on eBooks because WorldCat Local configuration groups these items together with other electronic items, such as computer files.

]]>Request 2.0: same same, but differenthttp://www.cdlib.org/cdlinfo/2013/09/26/request-2-0-same-same-but-different/
Thu, 26 Sep 2013 23:13:16 +0000http://www.cdlib.org/cdlinfo/?p=14323More...]]>During the last two weeks of September, you may have noticed a change to the Request interface. CDL has upgraded Request, the interface UC staff, faculty, and students use to submit document delivery (where offered) and interlibrary requests.

In look and behavior, Request 2 is not much different from Request 1. Beneath the surface, however, Request is thoroughly modernized. These “under the hood” changes will make it much easier for us to maintain, change, and enhance the application going forward.

However, we have included some functional differences in new Request that are worth noting:

Request screens for single items do not display a “skip” button or other options that are not meaningful in a single-item context.

The multi-item interface for PubMed requests, Request Citation List (refresher on this feature), has a much more standard user interface.

We disable buttons and display a “spinner” when a remote operation takes will take more than a couple of seconds.

The “incomplete journal request” screens have been redesigned.

If a user comes into Request from an unsupported starting point (anywhere other than WorldCat local, UC-eLinks, or PubMed), they are automatically redirected to UC-eLinks. This can happen if a user comes in, for example, from www.worldcat.org.

Patron information is displayed in the summary screen so that users can go back and correct it before clicking the Request button.

There is a “Restart my request” link that enables the user to start over if they cancel the request after entering their patron information.

The part of Request that handles pre-processing for document delivery and interlibrary requests is completely unchanged. We do not anticipate any detrimental effects on VDX (UC’s interlibrary transaction management tool) or any campus document delivery tools.

Members of the California Digital Library are always looking for ways to get closer to the people and tools we connect through our digital services. Although we communicate through email and phone calls, nothing can replace true face-to-face contact. So with much excitement, Alison Ray and Leslie Wolf of CDL’s Resource Sharing team headed down to UC Santa Cruz for two days to get some hands on experience at the “brick and mortar” library.

We were welcomed with open arms by the UC Santa Cruz interlibrary loan staff:

UC Santa Cruz interlibrary services unit blends the borrowing and lending functions; every staff member is trained in both functions. This cross-training within the department fosters communication between staff members and also with their resource sharing partners.

In addition to the UC resource sharing consortia, UCSC is also part of a regional cooperative library system: Monterey Bay Area Cooperative Library System (MOBAC). Being part of a local regional group gives UCSC more options to efficiently fulfill requests for their patrons. UCSC is a net lender in the MOBAC consortium, especially for CSU Monterey Bay and the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey.

Working side-by-side with the UCSC library team showed us that interlibrary loan isn’t just about software — it’s also about the manual processes involved in managing a physical collection and delivering items to users.

Leslie Wolf helps pull materials from shelves.

The ILL unit runs with great efficiency, but the staff couldn’t do it without the support of trained student workers. They know just what to do every day by checking the whiteboard in the staff room (see photograph below). Tasks that are currently in process are labeled with a circle; completed tasks are marked with an X. The photograph below was taken early in the morning. By the afternoon, every task had an X by it. It’s not that easy — new student workers take approximately one year to become independent in these tasks.

Student workboard in the morning.

UCSC is also supported by mentors from other campuses — power users who are expert in the ILL software (called VDX). The UCSC ILL team praised their mentors for teaching them techniques to save time and effort. Their mentors are always available for a question, a problem, and a solution. The team cited Jenny Lee (UCLA), Scott Hathaway (UCSB), and Debbie Cox (UCSD) as invaluable mentors to UCSC.

As eager as we were to learn about their process, the UCSC team was eager to learn more about CDL‘s plans to continuously improve its services. They report that the in-person interaction was very valuable and everyone gained from the visit. Working together, we were able to identify processes and local settings that could be changed to help the unit run more efficiently. UCSC was happy in return to share “real-world” examples of the process that CDL supports. It was a great exchange of information.

Our visit made us realize once again that we are all part of a team whose goal is to get the right resources to students, faculty, and other partners when they need them the most.

The My ILL Requests system has been upgraded! The new interface includes a new look and feel, with many features that were requested by ILL patrons in the last ILL User Satisfaction Survey (conducted by the Resource Sharing Committee – Interlibrary Loan Advisory Group).

Examples include:

* The list of ILL requests loads immediately after logging in
* The list of ILL requests now shows 10 requests per page instead of 5
* The link to electronic documents appears in both default and details display
* More information is displayed about the status of requests

Complete information about the changes to My ILL Requests is available in the “My ILL Requests – New look, new features in 2010” document at http://www.cdlib.org/services/d2d/ill/request/. Please feel free to adapt the document for instructional use on your campus.

]]>Updated EndNote Import Filter available for Melvylhttp://www.cdlib.org/cdlinfo/2008/10/28/updated-endnote-import-filter-available-for-melvyl/
Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:35:01 +0000http://cdlinfo.cdlib.org/blog/2008/10/28/updated-endnote-import-filter-available-for-melvyl/ A new version of the EndNote Import Filter for the Melvyl catalog is now available.]]>By Alison Ray, CDL Information Services Analyst

With our latest upgrade to the Melvyl Catalog (http://melvyl.cdlib.org), certain views of the Print/Email record displays changed. This made the EndNote Import Filter for the Melvyl Catalog unusable. The technical support team at Thomson Reuters, the producer of the EndNote bibliographic citation software, has corrected the problem with the import filter and has made a new version available from their Import Filters web page.